Still trying to decide on what to do at lease-end...

[PUZZ]

Emotion says, go out and sign up for a new one with the LCI, new iDrive, new smells, etc, etc. Sensible side of me says, pay cash at buyout (approx $40K) and drive it for as long as possible (approx. 3 to 4 years, or more) and shut down the $850/mo payment. My car is pretty well equipped with only 25K miles on it and I still like driving it and it looks as good as the day I picked it up. Dealer retail is $47 to $49K based on what I've seen advertised. Lease is up in May.

Thoughts?

[DWill]

Originally Posted by PUZZ

Emotion says, go out and sign up for a new one with the LCI, new iDrive, new smells, etc, etc. Sensible side of me says, pay cash at buyout (approx $40K) and drive it for as long as possible (approx. 3 to 4 years, or more) and shut down the $850/mo payment. My car is pretty well equipped with only 25K miles on it and I still like driving it and it looks as good as the day I picked it up. Dealer retail is $47 to $49K based on what I've seen advertised. Lease is up in May.

Thoughts?

If you want to keep it negotiate the price down. They will come way down off that price.

[Kloogy]

You might be able to buy it, then sell it for a profit. But sounds like you're happy with it. I would keep it and wait for the 2014 model.

[rh71]

^ I agree with waiting for the 2014 model for "new".

[alexmish]

i was in the same situation last year, with 08 4.8i almost fully loaded too, with approx same $ for buyout. I did the math of what it would cost me to get a new 3.5i, 3.5d, 5.0i or keep existing and trade it in later - over the period of following 3 years (lease term). All things equal (meaning I'd buy extended warranty and maintenance programs to receive same "ownership experience"), this is what I came up with ($-wise):

keep mine vs. lease 5.0i -> keep mine, as lease would cost for 5.0 ~6K more over 3 years
keep mine vs. lease 3.5i -> comes out even $-wise, thus makes sense to lease and drive new car with new features
keep mine vs. lease 3.5d -> lease 3.5d, savings of ~4K (incl savings on fuel)


So it all depends what you want to get going forward... If you want crazy acceleration 4.8 provides, you must go with 5.0i, therefore keep yours. However, if you are willing to compromise a bit off-the-start kick, go with 3.5d and lease yourself 2011!

EDIT: Another important factors are, obviously, your state of finances, savings, and security of your job/business. If you end up paying off your 08 in cash, make sure you don't significantly deplete your savings by doing so. In my case I did a compromise - I put some money down in the begining to keep monthly payments around $500. So instead of spending $43K (taxes incl) to payoff my lease, I put down ~ $14K and have relatively low payments. So, g.d forbid we end up loosing jobs, we still have good savings and relatively low monthly payments to get by.

[BGM]

Buy it, pocket the monthly payment and drive it for a 3-4 years (at least). Increased cash flow in this economy is king. You have had it since new and know everything about it, took good care of it, etc. Most people don't know the difference between the LCI and pre-LCI--it's not worth having a payment for. I actually like the look of the pre-LCI as it's more rugged "truck-like" whereas the LCI is more "car-like". If you were to go with the 3.5i with 20"s they still have those tiny round tailpipes--looks wimpy ha.

[Richard in NC]

I was faced that decision at then end of lease with an '02 M5. There was simply no better car on the market at the time. Plus I was 8000 over mileage and would have had a big penalty turning it in. The E60 was still several years away so I bought out the lease and kept the car for 2 more years until the crankcase ventilation issue at high mileage scared me away. I ended up trading for a 650i. I regretted that move and went for an '08 550i.

Bottom line, although an expensive way to pay off a car in the long run, buying the lease out makes sense if you like the car and see no advantage going for a new one. Plus you can work in a CPO process and get an extended warranty. You do that by selling the car to the dealer, then they buy out the lease, add the CPO, and sell it back to you, all in one transaction. To keep the M5, I signed sellers documents and buyers documents. Weird but it worked and only cost me $2000 for the CPO plus transaction fees (all added into the finance agreement).

[deutsch100]

I agree 100% with Alexmish!!!

[alexmish]

Added an import EDITorial to my previous post...